Grace Kelly (1929-1982)
}} Grace Patricia Kelly was an American film actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early- to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956, which marked the end of her fil career. After embarking on an acting career in 1950 when she was 20, Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions and more than 40 episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. From 1952 to 1956 she starred in several critically and commercially successful films, usually opposite male romantic leads 25 to 30 years older than her. In October 1953, she gained stardom from her performance in director John Ford's African-filmed adventure-romance Mogambo, starring Clark Gable and Ava Gardner, which won her a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 1954 she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her deglamorized performance in the drama The Country Girl with Bing Crosby.1 Other noteworthy films in which she starred include the western High Noon (1952), with Gary Cooper; the romance-comedy musical High Society (1956), with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra; and three Alfred Hitchcock suspense thrillers in rapid succession: Dial M for Murder (1954), with Ray Milland; Rear Window (1954), with James Stewart; and To Catch a Thief (1955), with Cary Grant. Kelly retired from acting at the age of 26 to marry Rainier, and began her duties as Princess of Monaco. It is well known that Hitchcock was hoping she would appear in more of his films which required an "icy blonde" lead actress, but he was unable to coax her out of retirement. Kelly and Rainier had three children: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, and Princess Stéphanie. Kelly retained her link to America by her dual U.S. and Monégasque citizenship. Princess Grace died at Monaco Hospital on September 14, 1982, succumbing to injuries sustained in a traffic collision the previous day. At the time of her death she was 52 years old. Princess of Monaco Kelly headed the U.S. delegation at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1955. While there, she was invited to participate in a photo session with Prince Rainier III, the sovereign of the Principality of Monaco, at the Prince's Palace, about 55 kilometers away from Cannes. After a series of delays and complications, she met him at the Prince's Palace of Monaco on May 6, 1955. At the time of her initial meeting with him, she was dating the French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont. After a year-long courtship described as containing "a good deal of rational appraisal on both sides", Prince Rainier married Kelly in 1956.1956: Prince Rainier marries Grace Kelly, BBC: On This Day. Accessed 31 May 2008. The Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the laws of the Catholic Church necessitated two ceremonies – both a civil ceremony and a religious wedding. The 16-minute civil ceremony took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956, and a reception later in the day was attended by 3,000 Monégasque citizens. To cap the ceremony, the 142 official titles that she acquired in the union (counterparts of her husband's) were formally recited. The following day the church ceremony took place at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral, before Bishop Gilles Barthe. The wedding was estimated to have been watched by over 30 million viewers on live television and was described by biographer Robert Lacey as "the first modern event to generate media overkill". Her wedding dress, designed by MGM's Academy Award-winning Helen Rose, was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses. The bridesmaids' gowns were designed by Joe Allen Hong at Neiman Marcus. The 700 guests included several famous people, including Aristotle Onassis, Cary Grant, David Niven and his wife Hjördis, Gloria Swanson, Ava Gardner, Aga Khan III, Gloria Guinness, and many others. Frank Sinatra was invited but did not attend. Kelly and Rainier left that night for their seven-week Mediterranean honeymoon cruise on his yacht, Deo Juvante II. The couple had three children: * Princess Caroline, born January 23, 1957 * Prince Albert, born March 14, 1958, current Prince of Monaco * Princess Stéphanie, born February 1, 1965 See Also * - Wikipedia * House of Rainier Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Actresses from Philadelphia Category:Actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood Category:American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Category:American emigrants to Monaco Category:American film actresses Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American television actresses Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Burials at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate, Monaco Category:California Democrats Category:Princesses by marriage Category:Princesses of Monaco Category:Recipients of the Order of Saint-Charles Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Beneficence (Greece) Category:Recipients of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity Category:Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Category:Irish-American history Category:Kelly family Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Category:Monegasque film actresses Category:Naturalized citizens of Monaco Category:Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Category:Pennsylvania Democrats Category:Road incident deaths in Monaco Category:Western (genre) film actresses Category:Catholics from Pennsylvania Category:Deaths from cerebrovascular disease